


Okay

by Summer_Dusk



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Late night talks, Mòrag is better at comforting people than expected, Nia has some pent up emotions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 01:33:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14905958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Summer_Dusk/pseuds/Summer_Dusk
Summary: After the happenings in Elpys the group rests for the night at Corinne's house. Nia is too wound up and goes for a walk around the village, where she meets Mòrag who also can't sleep.





	Okay

**Author's Note:**

> So, fun little trivia: this was the first story ever I wrote for this fandom. Pretty much the first thing I did after clearing the game because I needed something to heal my poor heart from the happenings in Elpys, lmao.  
> For some reason I slipped into present tense when I wrote this, which usually never really happens, so I just rolled with it ~

“Nuh-nuh-nuh-nuhnuhnuh.”

“Ultimate… fury…zzz”

Nia’s ears flick every time she hears an unpleasantly loud or annoying snore – and there are a _lot_ of them: Tora, whose snores sound like he is saying “nuh” repeatedly, then there is Rex, who doesn’t really snore, but his breath is very heavy compared to his sleep on quieter days. Dromarch, Pandoria and Brighid are much the same.

The worst of them is Zeke.

It is understandable, Nia tries to tell herself. They just made it back from Elpys and seeing how most of their team consisted of blades – or persons sharing a very close connection to their blades – it is no surprise that their sleep mirrors their exhaustion from exploring that place.

She herself is dead-tired too, but how is she supposed to sleep with all that noise around her?

She sits up from her bed and rubs her weary eyes.

Even though the bedroom in Corinne’s house has six beds, cramped together in three bunk beds, it is still not enough to accommodate their entire group.

Dromarch sleeps on the floor, as per usual, and Poppi too, sleeps standing next to her masterpon’s bed. She said that she did not mind; after all she couldn’t feel the comfort of a warm bed and clean sheets. Zeke and Rex occupy their own beds, as do Tora and Pandoria. The latter had refused to sleep in a bed with her driver, because the bed was small and Zeke’s physique “too bulky”. When an especially loud snore leaves his mouth, which tempts Nia to throw a pillow at him, she is sure that his “physique” is not the only reason Pandoria prefers to occupy her own bed. This left Mòrag and Brighid to share a bed, but Mòrag isn’t there right now. And Pyra isn’t even with them, or otherwise it would have been even more cramped. Last time, they only made a short rest here, saving them from the predicament of sharing a way too small room for the night.

Nia sighs and decides that it would be best to get some fresh air before she resumes her futile attempt to fall asleep. She gets out of her bed, careful, to not accidently step on Dromarch and wake him up. With him and Brighid around it is hotter inside the room than in an oven.

She glances at the fire elemental blade from the corner of her eye while she opens the door as silently as possible and wonders where her driver has disappeared to in the middle of the night.

When Nia steps out from the warm house the fresh breeze is a stark, cold contrast. A shiver finds its way down her spine, but it is better than trying to get back to sleep in a room full of annoying snores and heat emitting blades.

It is deep night-time. The stars shine brightly above her, but more importantly, Fonsett’s villagers have all long gone to sleep by now and Nia is free to wander the streets on her own, without anyone looking at her.

It is still new to her. Walking around freely as her true self. She doesn’t feel quite as comfortable and confident now than when she had revealed her true nature as blade in front of her friends in the heat of the battle. She knows, things like that need time and getting used to. Eventually, it will be fine. Rex – no, all her friends – have accepted her and who she is. That is a good foundation to build upon. But still, right now she prefers the fact that no one is walking around who could have seen her.

Nia walks slowly around the village, taking in the smell of the grass and trees and looks at the buildings and the unoccupied shops.

Eventually, she makes her way towards the cliff, where she has seen Fonsett’s children jumping off and into the cloud sea the first time they had approached the village.

“Weirdos. Weirdos everywhere around here.”, she murmurs when she recalls how Rex had offered to show her how to make such a leap. She likes having both her feet on the ground, thank you very much. Not to mention that swimming inside the cloud sea feels incredibly creepy, as if the clouds want to nestle around her and drown her…

From afar, she notices a dark shape sitting nearby the cliff’s edge. A bit curious, Nia approaches and soon enough she recognizes the silhouette as Mòrag. Nia halts for a moment to ask herself if she wants the company right now, but since she has made her round around the village and already feels a bit bored with wandering around alone, she decides to approach her companion.

“Can’t sleep?”, Nia asks as she sits down nonchalantly next to her.

Mòrag doesn’t even twitch, even though Nia’s voice is unexpectedly close and loud compared to the quiet of the village. The Ardainian woman turns to her and greets her with a nod. “It is not very pleasant to share a bed with Brighid. Not when the room is filled to the brim with humans and blades who emit their own body heat, anyway.”

Nia nods. “For me it was Zeke’s snores.”, she says with an exasperate sigh.

“Yes. He must be very exhausted from making his way through Elpys and fighting the fatigue from the lack of ether down there.”, Mòrag muses. She casts an inquiring look towards Nia and adds: “You must be tired too.”

“Where’d you get that ide –“, her reply is cut short by her attempt to stifle a yawn.

At this, Mòrag smiles a little. Nia notices and, feeling embarrassed for some reason, she decides to look away from the other woman and towards the cloud sea stretching out in front of them. They stay silent for a while and Nia’s thoughts drift towards today’s happenings.

Maybe it hadn’t been the smartest idea to put herself to the test down in Elpys. It had been hard to carry herself, let alone pretending she was fine and not affected as the blades were. If they hadn’t rested down there she would have collapsed long before they ever reached the alleged Aegis sword. Who knows how different the events would have played out then.

Thinking about it, the one who had proposed to make that break... had it not been...?

“Thank you.”, Nia suddenly says. She draws her knees towards her body and encloses them with her arms.

Mòrag blinks once. “What for?”, she asks.

“For suggesting to rest up in Elpys. You noticed I wasn’t feeling well, didn’t you?”

“Indeed.”, Mòrag confirms.

Nia lets out a weary sigh. “Guess we are even then.”

It takes Mòrag a moment or two to understand what Nia is referring to. “No, we are not. You saving the emperor is in no way comparable to me looking out for my comrades.”

“Why not? I might’ve died down there, you know.”

“Yes, and for what reason? To hide your identity from us. It is abundantly clear what lengths you were willing to go to keep that secret, yet you chose to save emperor Niall and risk getting found out. You did not have to do that. The moment Aegaeon returned to his core crystal I had thought him gone forever... I and everyone else. And still, you...” She looks at Nia, a pensive look on her face. “Why?” Her brown eyes seem sad when she recalls what happened that day.

Nia knows Mòrag’s gaze is upon her now, but she doesn’t feel like facing her. She risks a sideways glance, but that’s it. “I-it was an impulse decision. He just wanted to save us and... and he was too young...” She trails off, remembering the tears Mòrag had shed while she had cradled the young boy in her arms.

“Impulse decision?”, Mòrag repeats disbelievingly. It is clear that she isn’t buying into it.

Nia scratches the back of her head sheepishly. “And it... kinda broke my heart seeing you like that.”, she adds reluctantly.

Mòrag contemplates those words for a while. “It must have been quite the sight. To see me lose my composure, I mean.”, she notes sadly.

“That’s not it!”, Nia snaps and her golden eyes meet Mòrag’s. “I mean, yeah, it was shocking because you’re usually so calm and composed, but... I know how it feels to lose a sibling and...”, she grows quieter with each word, unsure of what point she actually wants to get across. She crosses her arms and huffs. “I did it because it felt like the right thing to do. Living on, knowing I could have saved him if I hadn’t been so afraid... all the while fighting by your side like a fucking hypocrite...” She pauses, unsure of how to continue. She had made the mistake of letting people die in front of her often enough.

“Ah, yes. I probably would have detested you if things had played out that way.” Mòrag seems to understand.

Nia frowns. “Probably?” Assuming from what she had seen back when the emperor had died for a few moments, she’d have thought that Mòrag would have wanted to take revenge, if she ever found out that Nia could have saved her brother’s life and had chosen against doing so. One would think that Mòrag would have definitely confronted her about it and not care about the progress they had made in friendship so far.

“We will never know for sure.”, Mòrag only replies and she holds Nia’s gaze. There is something in her brown eyes that Nia can’t quite read; but it is warm and kind. Had Mòrag grown so fond of her? Then again… they had travelled for quite some time together now – it shouldn’t have been so hard for Nia to believe.

“I guess so...” With a sigh Nia leans back, her hands on the ground now to support her weight. She is glad for more than one reason that she didn’t let the Ardainian emperor die that day. Mòrag not hating her was certainly one of them. But not feeling guilty over doing nothing even more so. A breeze from the cloud sea wafts softly between them when Nia speaks up again. “What would be a worthwhile return for saving the Emperor’s life then?”

Mòrag only smiles at this. “That is your choice. I am fine with anything as long as it is not something you should take for granted anyway.”

“Oh?” A sly smile finds its way to Nia’s face. “So something like paying my dinner next time would be okay? Because it’s something you wouldn’t think of doing usually?”

Mòrag lets out a little laugh. It is the first time Nia sees her in genuine amusement and can’t help but smile a little further. “I imagined something grander, but I guess that will do too.”, the Ardainian woman replies.

“W-wait! That was just an example! I am not gonna waste a favour from the mighty Special Inquisitor on a dinner date!”

The smile still stays on Mòrag’s face, even after her laugh subsides. “Figures.”, she says. She turns her head towards the cloud sea again. “Though it did sound very pleasant.”

Nia can only stare at her in disbelief. “Are you pulling my leg?”

Mòrag does not reply to that. Instead she stands up again, placing her hands behind her back as per usual. “We should turn back. It is quite late.”

“Go back and do _what_?” Nia asks as she stands up too. “Because it certainly won’t be sleeping.” She frowns as she recalls the heat and snores back in Corinne’s house.

“But you must be tired.”, Mòrag insists. “Were you planning to stay up all night?”

“Nooo…” To be honest: Nia did not have any plans besides leaving that room and getting some peace of mind.

She stares at the cloud sea and notices that the breeze feels much warmer than when she had left the house, comfortable even. When a bird passes by with a loud flap of its wings her ears unconsciously twitch towards the noise. She may have found Fonsett boring the first time they visited, but right now, boring is just what she needs. The village is calm and relaxing, no matter where she stands. “I could spend the night outside.”, she thinks aloud, with a hand on her chin. Incidentally, she notices that Mòrag had perfectly dodged her question about whether she was joking before or not. Nia could bring it up again, be her petty old self, but she doesn’t feel like pushing the matter further.

“The village is quiet, the temperature is warm enough and no monsters venture here.”, Mòrag agrees. “Sounds like a good idea.” She starts walking towards the nearest tree, with more purpose than necessary.

Nia stares at her back in confusion. “Wait a sec! Do you want to spend the night with me?”, she asks surprised and as soon as the words leave her mouth she realizes how awkward they sound. “O-outside! The night outside with me, I mean!”, she adds flustered as she catches up to the other woman with a few quick steps.

“Why not? Our lodging doesn’t exactly fit us all, as you noticed.” Mòrag either didn’t notice or doesn’t care about Nia’s awkwardness.

In either case, Nia is thankful for that. She doesn’t need any teasing about such things, what with that confession of love she made earlier… She had been overwhelmed by her feelings – finally opening up to her friends and revealing that secret of hers she had tried for so long to hide from everyone… She had felt finally free and not afraid of anything anymore. The words had just slipped out of her mouth, feeling so right to say in that moment. And she had meant them, of course, or else she wouldn’t have thought of saying them in the first place.

As expected, Rex’s reciprocation was of the naïve, platonic kind; so typical for this to go over his head. It had hurt a bit, being mistaken like that, but being assured on the other hand that she was a precious loved friend, just like the others…

Those words are equally important to her. They are proof, not only of their friendship, but the fact that she finally _belongs_ somewhere after running away for so long. Knowing that, it is easy to handle the romantic rejection.

When she sees Mòrag sitting down by a tree and leaning her back on its trunk, Nia can’t help but smile. The Ardainian woman is also one of those precious friends that are so much like home to her, even though they had the rockiest of starts. Life sure took strange turns at times.

Nia approaches and sits down close to her. She feels the warmth emanating from the other woman’s body and closes her eyes wearily. Sitting next to Mòrag makes her feel safe. Whether this is because she is a trusted friend, one of those who know her secret – or the fact that she is the strongest woman of Mor Ardain and a fearsome fighter Nia can’t say. The thought makes her chuckle. Maybe it’s a bit of both.

“You can lean on me if you like.”, Mòrag offers her and it sounds matter-of-factly, but Nia picks out the soft and caring undertones in her voice.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Nia doesn’t need to be told twice. She is tired. Oh-so tired from fighting on to proceed down in Elpys, from battling never ending shadows and tired from being overwhelmed by all of today’s feelings. She rests her head on Mòrag’s shoulder and in response, the other woman puts her arm around her and pulls her close.

“Didn’t think you were the type for that…”, Nia comments, her voice half a murmur.

“I want you to sleep – and be comfortable while doing so.” Mòrag explains. ”Today took a great toll on you, you deserve the rest, Nia.”

At this, Nia can only muster up a weak smile. “Ever the soldier, eh?”, she comments Mòrag’s rather dry matter-of-factly explanation. She settles into the embrace and takes a deep breath, inhaling fresh air and the smell of the other woman’s uniform. She closes her eyes to try and get some sleep, but she sees images of her past, the events that made her a flesh eater – the very reason she began hiding away from the world in the first place. It is all coming back, now that her identity is out in the open. “Hey, could you tell me a story? It would help me fall asleep. Distracts me from thinking too much.”

“Do you wish to hear something specific?”

Nia shakes her head. “Not really…. But I do like hearing about far-off places, full of nature and trees and water… Stuff like that.”

Mòrag nods in acknowledgement. “I do have a story like that, multiple ones even, but the setting should be more than familiar to you.”

“I don’t mind.”, Nia only says, shaking her head ever so slowly. Mòrag’s arm around her fills her with a gentle warmth. She isn’t quite sure if she has ever felt that kind of warmth before during this particular life as a blade.

Before she can think about how sad this is, Mòrag starts her tale. It is one from her childhood, when she and her brother Niall lived in Gormott for a while. And Mòrag tells her all about the adventures she’s had with her brother and other Gormotti kids: how they used to swim in a lake nearby Torigoth every summer day and how they watched the fireflies during the nights and Nia is reminded of all the beauty her home country has to offer.

She chuckles softly at the tale of a giant beetle that frightened the group of friends and at young Mòrag’s attempt to fight it off with a stick. It makes Nia realize that there is a whole different side to the infamous Flamebringer. One she never knew, nor ever thought about before. In a way, it reminds her of herself and how her friends also had had no idea until today that there was a part to her they never knew and thought about before. For some reason, she finds comfort in that parallel. 

She snuggles a bit closer to feel the warmth of Mòrag’s body against her own. “This does not count as returning the favour…”, she mumbles and in the next moment, her body relaxes and drops against the other woman.

“Of course not...”, Mòrag confirms, but she knows Nia can’t hear her anymore. She watches Nia’s face for a moment, sleeping soundly, and notices how calm and gentle her features look, a stark contrast to how she usually presents herself. She is tempted to reach out with her free hand, and gently stroke the smaller woman’s face, but refrains herself from doing so.

She should rest too, Mòrag thinks to herself. She didn’t have to struggle in Elpys, but it is late now and the journey was long and they have still a way to go until Mor Ardain. Out of habit, she looks around, but there is no danger in Fonsett, so she decides to close her eyes and rest for as little or long as possible.

 

It is the first rays of sunshine that wake Nia up the next morning. They feel warm on her face and the light covers everything in soft, warm hues. The grass is green and orange at once, the cloud sea a pastel pink.

“Beautiful…”, she whispers, completely taken aback. How often had she watched sunrises with Dromarch, tired of running, and only with little relief, as they’d only bring another day in which they’d struggle to survive?

She blinks, the rays shining directly into her eyes now, as if to greet her with a tease. Nia grins and stands up to get out of the lights way. She walks closer to the cliff edge and takes a deep breath. She feels different this morning and as she closes her eyes to feel the light against her skin, she realizes that this is the first day in a very long time where she is _not_ relieved to see the sunrise. And that’s good, because that means that seeing it has become something ordinary to her; a common day occurrence. It is still a very new feeling. Not having to run and hide and hope that they will make it another day…

The soft light fills her chest and Nia takes a deep breath, because all of a sudden it feels heavy.  
A tear runs down the side of her face, as the events that led to her being on the run for many long years pass her mind once again: The death of her sister, what her father did to preserve her memory, his death, the Praetorium chasing her because she became a flesh eater…  
There is still much healing to do regarding these, but it’s okay, she tells herself, because on this very morning she is just happy to watch the beautiful colours and does not need to worry about anything else. Not right now, anyway.

She wipes the tear away, and another and suddenly she feels a hand on her back. Immediately, Nia puts her hands down and pretends to have done something different.

“Is everything alright?”, Mòrag words are a mere whisper. She doesn’t look at Nia to give her some privacy and Nia is very grateful for that.

“I’m okay.”, Nia answers, her voice stifled. The tears won’t stop. A small sob escapes her and she can feel Mòrag’s warm hand stroking her back in an attempt to comfort her. “I mean, I will be okay.”, she corrects herself and manages a weak smile. “Eventually.”, she adds and steps a little closer towards Mòrag.

“It’s alright, you don’t need to force yourself.”, Mòrag only says and pulls her into an embrace. “You’ve been strong for long enough now.” 

Nia only nods in response as she fears that she will start bawling if she opens her mouth again. Her whole body is trembling and she digs her fingers into the other woman’s uniform.

“What do you say if we go for a short walk by the shore?”, Mòrag suggests after a few minutes pass, seeing that Nia is in no way ready to return to the others. “Collect some sea shells maybe, and then get some breakfast?” She feels how Nia stops trembling, but her response stays away. “How does that sound?”, she asks softly into the blade’s ear.

Eventually, Nia finds the courage to look at her with gleaming golden eyes. “Good.”

Mòrag gives her the gentlest smile she has to offer and squeezes her once before she lets go. “Let us leave then.”

Nia nods and together they make their way towards the nearby shore. Unable to say ‘thank you’ aloud for the comfort Mòrag offered to her, Nia just grabs her hand once they step out of the village and squeezes it tightly, hoping the other woman will understand.

Mòrag returns the squeeze quietly.


End file.
